{"id":24100,"date":"2026-08-31T11:43:27","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T15:43:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/?p=24100"},"modified":"2026-08-31T11:45:52","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T15:45:52","slug":"obsession-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/?p=24100","title":{"rendered":"Obsession-2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Obsession-2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

Director Curry Barker<\/strong><\/p>\n

Starring Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette<\/strong><\/p>\n

Scott’s Review #1,547<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Reviewed August 31, 2026<\/p>\n

Grade: A-<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thanks largely to tremendous word of mouth about Obsession (2026), I couldn’t wait to see the new film. One reviewer even described it as ‘mind-blowing ‘.<\/p>\n

Reported to be shocking, disturbing, and downright freaky, the film’s reviews are refreshing in a modern embrace of the horror genre.<\/p>\n

Some recent horror films have even received Oscar nominations!<\/p>\n

I loved Obsession, and the strong accolades kept me on my toes throughout, knowing creepiness and shenanigans lurked around every corner.<\/p>\n

I worried the buzz might leave me ultimately disappointed, but it didn’t, and I still find myself replaying various sequences in my mind.<\/p>\n

However, I also don’t agree that Obsession has changed the world or reshaped the horror genre. It’s not that<\/strong><\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Patterned after the classic Fatal Attraction (1987), at least in subject matter, though even more warped, it’s a film for a new generation that veterans can also enjoy.<\/p>\n

It’s a fantastically disturbing supernatural offering on par with Hereditary (2018) or Midsommar (2019) in terms of modern horror.<\/p>\n

I’m already a fan of director Curry Barker, who also writes and edits the project. At a mere twenty-six years old, he’s been influenced by Ari Aster while peppering Obsession with his own unique blend of terror.<\/p>\n

The film follows Bear (Michael Johnston), a young music store employee who has feelings for his friend, Nikki (Inde Navarrette). He is kind and a hopeless romantic, but he doesn’t want to risk ruining the friendship.<\/p>\n

Unsure if the feelings are mutual and feeling insecure after a botched attempt at revealing his feelings, he buys a supernatural toy called a “One Wish Willow” that grants his wish for Nikki to fall in love with him.<\/p>\n

Bear soon discovers that some desires come at a dark, sinister price when Nikki’s personality shifts and she becomes obsessed with him.<\/p>\n

Bear and Nikki’s other friends, Ian (Cooper Tomlinson) and Sarah (Megan Lawless), are also involved.<\/p>\n

Barker does a wonderful job setting the mood, and whether scenes are in the daytime or nighttime, it always feels dark. When the group is working at the music store, dining in a restaurant, or sitting in a car, it’s always dark.<\/p>\n

The film has a quiet feel and, blessedly, isn’t ruined by over-the-top or bombastic echoing noise.<\/p>\n

In the first scene, Bear sits in a diner across from a woman he is pouring his heart out to. The scene runs long as the viewer sits perplexed about what is going on until we realize the woman is only a waitress helping Bear practice expressing his feelings for Nikki.<\/p>\n

Of course, sudden violin sounds of creepy peril surface in the creepiest sequences and at just the right time, like when the audience notices Nikki standing in a corner or hovering in the background watching Bear.<\/p>\n

Navarette does a wonderful job as Nikki. Teetering from sociable to a crumbling emotional madwoman, she teeters between emotions seamlessly.<\/p>\n

She’s good at subtly playing ‘off’ so we’re not sure if she’s Nikki or the stark raving wackadoo bubbling beneath the surface as the personalities tend to duel.<\/p>\n

Her pageant smile as she watches Bear leave the house is both comical and frightening.<\/p>\n

Johnston is also impressive as Bear. Sensitive yet realistic, he is the film’s anchor, and it’s easy to want to be friends with a guy like him. Handsome yet not conceited, we want him to be with Nikki the normal and fear for his life with Nikki the psycho.<\/p>\n

Disturbing scenes like a character’s head bashed against a steering wheel or a filleted ‘cat sandwich’ provide appropriate gross-out moments.<\/p>\n

Teetering with dark comedy, it’s hard not to laugh, if not nervously, when Nikki wets her pants or shrieks at Bear to stay in bed.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, the film never dissolves into complete foolishness.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, gone are the days of female exploitation in horror films, and there is not a bare breast to be found. The only gratuitous scene is a quick bare-assed shot of Bear, so it’s nice that the males are getting their naked due.<\/p>\n

Obsession (2026) delivers a ‘be careful what you wish for’ message and frames the danger of making someone love you above all else.<\/p>\n

The only way to do that is to dehumanize them and strip away everything that made them someone you liked in the first place, which is dark territory.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Obsession-2026 Director Curry Barker Starring Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette Scott’s Review #1,547 Reviewed August 31, 2026 Grade: A- Thanks largely to tremendous word of mouth about Obsession (2026), I couldn’t wait to see the new film. One reviewer even described it as ‘mind-blowing ‘. Reported to be shocking, disturbing, and downright freaky, the film’s reviews … Continue reading Obsession-2026<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10861,13,11782,11808],"tags":[11978,12555,12552,12554,12556,12553],"class_list":["post-24100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2026-films","category-horror-films","category-psychological-horror","category-supernatural-horror","tag-andy-richter","tag-cooper-tomlinson","tag-curry-barker","tag-inde-navarrette","tag-megan-lawless","tag-michael-johnston"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24100"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24100\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24287,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24100\/revisions\/24287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}